Gambling Laws in Argentina

Whether you’re in the mood to play casino games in person or online, buy a lottery ticket, catch a horse race, or bet on football – you’re in luck. Argentina’s gambling laws provide for everything.

Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, with the second-largest economy in South America. That economy is bolstered with nearly $15 billion in gambling revenue, and the number continues to rise.

While casinos, lottery, and pari-mutuel have been around for decades, online gambling is becoming a homegrown industry.

Online gambling laws for Argentina have been loose since 2008, when a proposed government ban on offshore providers failed. Instead of calling it a day, Argentina, instead, turned its attention to licensing and regulation to keep some of the cash from flooding out of the area.

Nothing’s out of the realm of possibility when it comes to gambling and online gambling laws in Argentina. But, we’re still about to fill you in on the specifics. That includes where legal betting in Argentina has been and where it’s heading in 2021 and beyond.

If we had to describe the situation with Argentina’s gambling laws in a single sentence, it would be – Argentina allows for every betting opportunity, both land-based and online.

Gambling legislation in Argentina is loose, but not all forms of betting and gaming are officially licensed and regulated.

There was a national lottery that was once the only federally legislated program. It started in 1893, but the 21^st century witnessed the end of an era as the National Lottery held its last draw in February of 2018.

Now, without the national lottery, everything is in the hands of the 23 provinces plus the city of Buenos Aires, which has different governing powers.

That means provincial lotteries, casinos, bingo, pari-mutuel, sports betting, and Argentina’s online gambling laws and provisions are all dealt with by local government.

Provinces can decide which activities are regulated, and that means tighter controls on land-based operations as they’re easy to spot. But when it comes to online gambling, it’s not quite that simple.

However, when you can’t beat ‘em, you join ‘em, and that’s the philosophy many locations are taking.

The following is a breakdown of where each of the 23 provincial jurisdictions and autonomous Buenos Aires stands with online gambling.

The City of Buenos Aires is moving full speed ahead with a newly approved online gambling program.

City legislation received the go-ahead in early 2020 with some modifications later in the year. The original plan left out land-based casinos, but the revised version has opened the virtual door to Casino de Puerto Madero and Hipodromo de Palermo.

If either is interested in securing online gambling licensing, they’re now on the list.

Buenos Aires estimates anywhere from $6 to $9 million in annual revenue based on the new Argentina online gaming laws.

If you compare Argentina to nearby Brazil, you’ll note a stark contrast in the history of gambling and current legislation. Brazil has been ultra-conservative, flip-flopping back and forth with yes gambling, no gambling for more than a century.

On the other hand, Argentina has taken a more hands-off approach, allowing the chips to fall where they may. There have been some milestones along the way. But, for the most part, Argentina’s gambling laws evolved naturally.

Close to 200 casinos are spread throughout Argentina, providing 25,000 slot machines and 1,000 table games.

The Hipodromo Argentino de Palermo has 4,000+ slots, which is more than any other gambling venue in Argentina. However, it’s a racino and doesn’t carry the wide range of betting opportunities you’ll find with the official “casino” designation.

For the largest casinos with table games and poker, as well as slots, you’d head to the Trilenium.

It’s located in the city of Tigre and boasts 1,700 slots and 74 table games.

Like all of the other gambling pursuits, Argentina’s gambling laws regarding casinos are pretty much nonexistent.

There’s no federal program declaring casino gaming legal or illegal. We’ll sound like a broken record, but it’s up to the provinces to decide who can and can’t stay in their jurisdictions.

Casinos have been around for more than 100 years, though, and regional governments aren’t going to buck tradition.

Take the Casino Central, for example. It’s located about five hours from the city of Buenos Aires in Mar del Plata.

It opened in 1939 and is still an operational casino that can accommodate up to 18,000 players, as well as a historical landmark.

Some of the land-based casinos are part of the Argentina online gambling law discussions of late.

Instead of losing income to outside providers, land-based owners are expressing interest in launching virtual services, especially since the pandemic of 2020 meant forced closures.

While casinos are divvied up across provinces, the nation’s capital, Buenos Aires, is the exception to the rule.

Casinos and bingo halls aren’t approved in Buenos Aires. While there is a casino and racino, their homes are on the water and the racetrack.

The Casino Buenos Aires takes up three decks on the Estrella de la Fortuna, a Mississippi riverboat-like vessel with 700 slots and 100 table games.

The Buenos Aires Jockey Club was established back in 1892, and racecourses like the Hipodromo Argentino de Palermo first opened in 1876.

 Despite only three currently active thoroughbred courses, Argentines are still horse racing fans.

The San Isidro course hosts one of 12 stops on the Gran Premio Latinoamericano circuit.

El Latino is South America’s most valuable race with a $500,000 purse. It’s also the home of the Argentine Jockey Club’s Carrera de las Estrellas, or Race of the Stars, which is similar to the Breeders Cup.

Horse racing is year-round in Argentina under the auspices of the Jockey Club.

Here are details of the three racetracks.

Like many countries where horse racing is popular, Argentina has a triple crown series. The three races making up the series are as follows.

Wagering on horse racing is prevalent at the betting shops that have been in Argentina since the 1990, and online betting is also an option.

While offshore operators have traditionally handled online action, the situation is changing. Many of the provinces have already launched official programs that will keep the billions in annual wagering in-country.

February 2, 2018, was a sad day for some Argentines, as it closed the chapter on the Argentina National Lottery that had been a mainstay since 1893.

In addition to the number draws, the National Lottery maintained racetrack concessions from 1944 to 1980.

The historical significance is gone, but Argentines still have lottery action through provincial-run programs.

One of the most recent launches was in Santa Cruz in June of 2020. The new Lotería de Santa Cruz provides Quiniela santacruceña. The game will benefit health and social action projects in the local communities.

This particular lottery program stands out as it’s fully automated. Instead of a manual drawing-room, it’s computerized.

Provincial lotteries were already inching their way to the $1 billion (US) annual mark ($1.6 billion with the National Lottery) a few years ago. So, the addition of new programs, like Lotería de Santa Cruz, will boost that figure significantly, providing more benefit to the provinces.

The names will change, and the venues may look different, but bingo, poker, casinos, and betting shops are part of the Argentine landscape.

While each province can allow or reject gambling opportunities, refusing them is a rare occurrence.

Even with online sports betting up in the air as far as provincial regulation in some places, residents still have access to real money gambling sites from offshore providers.

Argentina currently has 46 land-based bingo parlors that have received the official stamp of approval from local governments.

Online bingo for real money is also accessible, even though Argentina online gambling laws don’t make specific provisions.

Poker was one of the first games prompting the Argentine government to stand up and take notice.

Starting in 2002, it began licensing poker operations, even though the provinces still have their say.

You could say that compared to other forms of gambling in Argentina, sports betting resides in the gray area more than anything else. When betting shops started emerging in the 1990s, they weren’t on the officially approved list, but they weren’t turned away either.

It’s been a similar situation with the online sports betting industry as well. However, that’s all changing with the new online gambling licenses.

Here are some of the most popular sports events to bet on in Argentina.

With the national lottery defunct, new programs are emerging like the City of Buenos Aires’ LOTBA (Loteria de la Ciudad). It’s regulating gambling in the city, including online gambling licenses covering sports betting, as well as casino games and online lottery sales.

LOTBA requirements include a $30,000 (US) license processing and a fixed annual fee of $100,00. Applicants need at least $2 million in the bank and must have two or more years in the industry with a clean track record.

One of the first licenses could go to Casino de Puerto Madero. Other contenders include Paddy Power Betfair, The Stars Group, Intralot with Bin Baires, Argen Bingo and William Hill, and Bet365 with Pasteko.

There won’t be a licensee limit imposed. Once again, Argentina has its anything goes philosophy with gambling.

Don’t expect gambling in Argentina to be wrapped in a neat little package with a bow. It’s a loosely constructed situation without a governing body and local legislation that isn’t tightly regulated.

While the new online licenses throughout the country will positively affect the local economies, punters will not push offshore operators aside entirely.

However, as Argentina is taking steps to provide a much more structured online gambling program, it could clamp down on offshore operators.

The UK, for example, allows out of area providers to obtain UK licensing. That way, the gambling commission functions as a regulatory agency, and the country benefits from taxes and licensing fees.

There’s not much that you could think of that you can’t find in Argentina gambling-wise. Land-based casinos, betting shops, horse racetracks, and lottery sales are located across the country.

Online gambling laws in Argentina are also much more liberal than what you’ll find in many other locations. Although most betting sites haven’t traditionally been licensed or monitored, they’ve been allowed to do business with Argentines.

However, the situation is slowly evolving. Argentina is changing its stance regarding allowing online gambling pursuits. The governments have decided to benefit from it, rather than standing by and watching as millions, and even billions of pesos, leave the country.